Who doesn't love a good star block? They are hopeful. Cheerful. Romantic. Dynamic. And oh those lovely, lovely points!
But wait - speaking of points.....how many points are IN a star block? Ah....that depends on the star. Star blocks can be simple or complex, easy or complicated. Let's explore some of the star blocks and how they are created!
Do you remember Traveler, the four pointed star from the Road Trip quilt along and BOM? Stars can have only four points - and still be very dynamic! I gave a little bit of background on the naming of the block, and Kate gave a brief demo of how easy it was to make this interesting version of a four pointed star using a simple stitch and flip technique. While the quilt along is over, you can still get info on the block and our posts here.
It is fascinating how adding a bit of stitch and flip to a simple friendship star can totally change the look of the block and create more interest!
Four pointed stars are great because - well they only have four points! When you think about it, a four pointed star is a nine patch with attitude! Yup - a nine patch! Look at it - four corner blocks, four HSTs, plus a center unit.
In fact, here's another four pointed star, also from Road Trip. We called this one Navigation. At first glance, it may look harder than it is. But let's break it down - Navigation is made up of one hourglass block (the center), four V Blocks (Studio 180) or TriRecs blocks, and four corner units. Easy, right?
I made mine using the V Block tool from Studio 180 - which is super duper simple. Want to see HOW to make a V Block? Head over to my blog post from the long-ago quilt along to get step by step images on making a V Block using the V Block tool. It is one fun way to make a star that has a slightly different looking point that usual.
Let's look at some quilts using star blocks now!
North Star has four pointed stars - but the interesting thing about this project is that the "stars" are created when two different kaleidoscope blocks come together. Fabric and value placement create the four pointed stars you see! Stars can be a specific block - or the effect of a star can be created when two or more blocks come together.
Three different star blocks are in Star Spangled Banner - a simple sawtooth star (outside border) with square in a square center and pieced corners (the block is called Old Snowflake), an on-point star that uses the same V Block unit for the points - but turned the other way (the block is called Doris's Delight, which is a version of the Eight Pointed Star - which makes perfect sense!) and in the center, a lovely blue and white star called Rising Star. Isn't it lovely when star blocks are combined?
Sometimes stars can be created by the negative space. That is exactly what is happening in Catch a Falling Star. The units themselves are a variation of Broken Dishes, but with careful placement and rotation, the negative space (background) creates the effect of an eight pointed star. In this case, the stars are falling apart as they fall down, hence the name!
The center of Monkey Bread is another version of a Sawtooth Star. It too has eight points, and an hourglass block as the center.
Eight pointed stars don't have to be even. In Compass Points, above, the star points are two different lengths. This block was inspired by traditional Mariner's Compass blocks. The long and short points give the star a bit more interest, don't you think?
Head over to Kate's blog, where she is going to explore units that can be combined to create stars, and look more closely at the stars that are in Luminous, Astria and Novalie!
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